VW CEO Claims Inability To Compete

Savings Plan: Partial & Early Retirement

For quite some time, Volkswagen has remained a highly influential presence throughout Europe. For a significant time frame, their renowned Golf model was the leading vehicle purchased within the Old World. Nevertheless, lately things have been adjusting, with Toyota amplifying and Stellantis bringing together an array of trademarks beneath one common label. Inserting Renault’s revived product line also into this equation, Volkswagen absolutely recognizes the possible anxieties these events could bring about.

Lest we not forget, the devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic along with Russia’s offensive against Ukraine heavily hindered VW’s supply route, bringing about exorbitant backlogs. The Wolfsburg based car manufacturer has yet to bounce back entirely and a bright future appears bleak. Last June, it had declared its intention to trim down expenditure by astronomical €10 billion ($11B), and as Reuters reported recently, VW’s head honcho spoke of theirs being an uncompetitive corporation.

A news agency obtained a statement from Volkswagen’s CEO Thomas Schäfer, which was posted on the company’s intranet, in which he declared: “With many of our pre-existing structures, processes and high costs, we are no longer competitive as the Volkswagen brand.” This statement was reportedly made at a staff meeting in Wolfsburg, during which Gunnar Kilian, a board member responsible for human resources, said that some of the savings would be achieved through partial or early retirements.

Kilian declared that the pricemanship stratagem will be completed by the conclusion of this year and expressed that the majority of savings will be experienced through other approaches. VW needs the revenue to erect their electrically-driven future and launch the SSP program that shall sustain a selection of vehicles, including the ninth-generation, strictly electric Golf. They are also delving into a transformation of MEB while engineering a more economical version for little, front-wheel-drive EVs like the ID.2.

Source: Reuters